Everyone wants to get better at rhythm, but not everyone knows how!
Specific music rhythm exercises are the key to getting better.
Too many people ignore this aspect of music, and then they seem surprised and frustrated when they get off or come across rhythms that kick their butt!
Whether you’re a music teacher or drummer, or instrumentalist, everyone needs to develop their rhythm skills.
Here are 10 of my favorite rhythmic activities for all age levels to use to improve your musicianship.
Table of Contents
Say-Clap-Play
At its core, rhythms evolved from organized speech.
As such, we can make our rhythm skills better by using rhythm syllables or counting to understand the flow of rhythm better.
When you get a chance, head on over to our massive article on rhythm syllables.
On top of this, to truly learn something better, we need to isolate the specific skill from everything else.
A quarterback doesn’t get better at throwing more accurate long passes by scrimmaging entire games non-stop.
They practice long throws more!
We need to remove the musical instrument from the beginning of our practice (or words if you’re a singer) and focus on the sound of the rhythms.
When I do specific rhythm practice or come across a difficult rhythmic part, I do these three things:
- I say and count the rhythm five times.
- I clap the rhythm while saying it five times.
- Then, I clap without saying the rhythm five times.
- I play the rhythm on my instrument (or sing it) five times.
Do this, and you’ll be amazed at how quickly you learn the parts.
Pro-tip: Start with eighth notes and quarter notes, and then move your way up.
Record Yourself
Another good trick is actually an add-on to all the other rhythm exercises.
Take a video of yourself doing the rhythms or playing the part.
Wait until you’ve been away from the music for at least an hour (a day would be better).
The time distance will help your brain look and listen to it with a fresh perspective.
Watch your recording and see how you did.
You’ll likely notice things you didn’t at the time you played it.
The most common rhythm problems you’ll discover this way are:
- Slowing down at difficult parts
- Rushing through long notes
- Unclear articulations of complicated changing patterns
- A lack of accents on syncopated (off-beat) rhythms
This is one of the best ways to self-reflect on how you’re actually playing different rhythms.
Rhythm Randomizer
Sometimes to get better, you just need a lot of practice.
But if you don’t have a method book or rhythm book, how do you know what to practice?
A rhythm trainer tool like Rhythm Randomizer is free and great for reading a bunch of random rhythms.
You get to select the length of the pattern, meter, rhythms used, and tempo used.
These feature a huge amount of rhythm options, from simple rhythms like a whole note or half notes to complex ones.
Then you click to generate a random rhythm, read it, check it with playback, and click to get a new one.
There are few ways to get as much of a volume of practice as with this tool.
Best of all, for my students at least, is that it’s browser-based.
No need for a visit to the app store or anything.
Play With A Metronome
The metronome is a musician’s best friend.
Keeping a steady beat is key to playing rhythms correctly.
After all, rhythm fits inside or stretched around the beat.
Turn your metronome on at the desired tempo and play along.
You’ll be amazed at how the metronome clicks highlight the spots where your drag or rush the tempo.
There are a lot of free online metronomes, but if you want a good one, you’ll really need to buy a physical one.
They can do all sorts of things with the beat, including dividing in different ways and with different sounds.
Check out this Dr. Beat on Amazon.
It’s my favorite because (while it’s a little pricier) it has so many options and will work for a long time on a single set of batteries.
Follow A Rhythm Method
Sometimes you need to follow a rhythm practice book, method, or rhythm worksheets.
Even if you don’t play a percussion instrument, there’s nothing wrong with looking at a book of snare drum rhythms.
They’ll often have a lot more complex rhythm than the other instruments will.
This book was written specifically to improve rhythm and follow a curriculum of rhythm mastery.
It even challenged me after a while, and I’ve been playing music for over 20 years!
Move And Play
What does it mean when our brains learn something?
Imagine your body is the capital of a state.
When you want to remember something or read something, your brain sends a message to a factory 50 miles away requesting the information, and then the message comes back.
If you learn something in only one way or with only one method, the road your brain’s message needs to travel is like a dirt road.
It’ll get there, but it can’t go very fast.
This is what happens when you only practice rhythm by playing it on your instrument.
But when you add more modes of practice, it’s like you’re building a paved road.
Add in movement, and now you’ve got a superhighway.
You’ll get your information in no time!
Here are a couple of ways to practice rhythms with movement:
- Step the beat and clap the rhythms
- Move your feet to the rhythms
- Use one hand to pat the beat while the other does the rhythm
Especially with young people, there is no better way to develop a sense of rhythm than through movement.
Subdivide All The Notes
The trombone professor where I did my undergrad had a saying that always stuck with me:
Whenever you play, you gotta get the little guys going in your head. Just get ’em going and going.
What he meant by that is that we need to divide and subdivide the beat to play rhythms better in a tempo.
Instead of just hearing or feeling the beat, we need to also hear the division and subdivision.
When you use your metronome, set it to divide the beat.
Make the off-beats softer/lower and the on-beats higher/louder.
Then, turn the metronome off and imagine the sound going and going in your head.
For this professor, he imagined little guys in his head just clicking away at the subdivision.
Take Private Lessons
Private lessons are always an option too.
It’s a great way to get specific feedback on your rhythm skills, and a good teacher will push you further.
The Quarter Trick
I love the quarter trick for helping learn any piece of music, but especially the rhythm.
Get out five quarters and look at the tough part of the complex rhythm.
Now, perform it at a slower tempo.
If you did it right, move one quarter from one side of your music stand or table to the other.
Perform it again at the same tempo.
Did you do it right?
If so, move a quarter over.
Keep going until you have all five moved over; then do the same steps again at a different tempo, a little faster.
If you mess up, all the quarters go back to the first pile.
Amateurs practice until they get it right. Professionals practice until they can’t get it wrong.
Which do you want to be?
Repeat and repeat, going faster and faster until it seems easy to you.
Add Words
This is a great exercise for kids, but it works for adults too.
Look at a rhythm pattern that you’re struggling with.
Count it out for yourself, and then listen to it.
Think of some words to put to the rhythm.
This can be food, names, a random sentence, or anything you want, really.
Remember how we talked about building roads in your brain?
Movement does the trick, but words and language will help out too.
Put them together, and you’ll be surprised at how quickly you learn.